Residents in multiple U.S. states launched recall efforts and legal challenges against local officials in mid-2026 over proposed data center developments. Voters in California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas initiated these efforts in May and June.

In Lenox Township, Michigan, a website, Lenoxdatacenter.com, went live in May promoting a proposed advanced technology and data center campus without identifying who planned to build it. Lenox Township officials denied receiving any application for a data center. However, emails obtained by residents through an open records request indicated that developers had contacted the township supervisor and deputy supervisor for support regarding a data center. Residents packed public meetings in Lenox Township, some lasting more than four hours, and submitted a petition seeking to recall four members of the Lenox board of trustees. The Lenox trustees did not extend a four-month moratorium on data center development. A resident stated at a June board meeting, "The community still has questions that aren't being answered and the public deserves to have transparency."

In Festus, Missouri, residents filed a petition to recall the mayor and three city council members after their approval of a $6 billion data center agreement with CRG Clayco. The developer did not disclose which technology company would operate the data center. Entrepreneur Michael Bommarito, author of "How to Fight a Data Center," said, "The company usually goes public only after the decisive votes have been taken." A judge determined that the voters in Festus had gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall election. The Festus city council subsequently rejected the recall petition. Festus resident Dennis McDonald has filed a legal challenge to the city council's decision. McDonald said, "I met a ton of people that I never would have met, and they have done amazing work and talked to their neighbors and knocked on their doors."

In Yukon, Oklahoma, Joe Horn filed a petition to recall the mayor and vice-mayor concerning their support for a proposed $1 billion data center. Horn said, "We already ration water here in Yukon." He also questioned, "At what cost are we going to have this huge industrial building right across the street from one of our most beautiful neighborhoods?" The Yukon city manager signed a non-disclosure agreement with Beltline Energy, a Georgia company, for a proposed deal in May 2025. The Yukon city council voted four to one to sell land to Beltline Energy. Following the recall petition, Jeff Wootton, the Yukon vice-mayor, resigned.